Definition
Depression
Definition
Depression is a clinical pattern of persistent low mood, loss of interest, and reduced energy that interferes with daily functioning. Major depressive disorder is the most common diagnostic category; persistent depressive disorder describes a longer-running, lower-grade pattern. Depression and sadness are not the same thing.
Clinical Context
Depression has biological, psychological, and social contributors. The medical-model frame captures part of the picture; the social and contextual frame captures the rest. Affirming practice attends to both, and to the way oppression, grief, chronic illness, and life context interact with mood.
How This Shows Up in Our Work
Treatment in our work pairs evidence-based talk therapy (CBT, behavioral activation, DBT-informed practice) with attention to the context that surrounds the symptoms. We talk about sleep, body, relationships, and meaning. When medication is part of the picture, the talk-therapy work runs alongside it, not against it.